WEBVTT
00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:08.000
Less than a third of eighth graders in this country scored at or above proficient on the most recent national science assessment.
00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.800
More than a third scored below basic, the highest percentage since 2009.
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:22.239
And in that same report, the percentage of students who said they have a high level of interest and enjoyment in science dropped 10 percentage points in just five years.
00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:25.440
10 points in five years.
00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.320
Students aren't just performing worse in science.
00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:29.679
They are checking out.
00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.320
And I think we need to be honest about why.
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.719
I started teaching in 2011.
00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:39.920
I had a textbook for every kid, a CD of PowerPoints, and the freedom to figure out the rest myself.
00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:41.039
It was hard.
00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:50.159
It was also the best professional experience of my life because it made me think about what I was teaching, why I was teaching it, and whether my students were actually learning anything.
00:00:50.399 --> 00:01:03.520
Then I left teaching and spent years working in cancer research, sitting alongside scientists and physicians who evaluated evidence for a living, who asked hard questions and sat with uncertainty and never confused confidence with correctness.
00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:07.200
And I kept thinking, this is what we're supposed to be building in high school.
00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:11.040
Not students who can memorize vocabulary, students who can think.
00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:17.439
When I came back to the classroom in 2020, I barely recognized it, and not just because of the pandemic.
00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:26.719
Scripted curricula, one-to-one devices, individualized learning platforms promising to personalize education while actually making it more impersonal than it's ever been.
00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:35.840
And teachers, good, experienced teachers reading from scripts instead of bringing themselves, their stories, and their expertise into the room.
00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.400
The art of teaching is being hollowed out and we are letting it happen.
00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:43.120
But here's what makes me the most frustrated.
00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:00.879
We've confused engagement with learning.
00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:04.799
We've confused meeting students where they are with lowering the bar.
00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:15.439
And somewhere along the way, we decided that real science, the messy, uncertain, hands-on, uncomfortable kind was too hard for most kids.
00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.000
I'm here to tell you it's not.
00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:24.879
Every student, regardless of background, language, or academic ability, is capable of thinking like a scientist.
00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:33.759
The student headed to a STEM PhD program, the student going straight into the workforce, the student who walked into your classroom last week and doesn't speak English yet.
00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:41.039
They all deserve a science education that asks something real of them, not a script, not a screen, something real.
00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:50.159
I'm Elise, I'm a high school science teacher, a former cancer researcher, and a curriculum designer, and I'm done waiting for policy to catch up to what we already know.
00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.039
Because here's the thing: we don't have to wait.
00:02:53.280 --> 00:03:03.360
We still have our classrooms, we still have our professional judgment, we still have the ability to put something real in front of our students and ask them to think instead of just click.
00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:11.280
The lab bench, Science Education Unfiltered, is a podcast for the science teacher who knows something is wrong and wants to do something about it.
00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:13.120
Not eventually, now.
00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:24.400
No scripts, no edits, just honest conversation about what we've lost, what we can reclaim, and what it actually looks like to teach science the way it was meant to be taught for every student in front of you.
00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:25.360
I'm Elise.
00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:27.039
This is the lab bench.
00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:28.319
Let's get to work.
00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:08.000
Less than a third of eighth graders in this country scored at or above proficient on the most recent national science assessment.
00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.800
More than a third scored below basic, the highest percentage since 2009.
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:22.239
And in that same report, the percentage of students who said they have a high level of interest and enjoyment in science dropped 10 percentage points in just five years.
00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:25.440
10 points in five years.
00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.320
Students aren't just performing worse in science.
00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:29.679
They are checking out.
00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.320
And I think we need to be honest about why.
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.719
I started teaching in 2011.
00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:39.920
I had a textbook for every kid, a CD of PowerPoints, and the freedom to figure out the rest myself.
00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:41.039
It was hard.
00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:50.159
It was also the best professional experience of my life because it made me think about what I was teaching, why I was teaching it, and whether my students were actually learning anything.
00:00:50.399 --> 00:01:03.520
Then I left teaching and spent years working in cancer research, sitting alongside scientists and physicians who evaluated evidence for a living, who asked hard questions and sat with uncertainty and never confused confidence with correctness.
00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:07.200
And I kept thinking, this is what we're supposed to be building in high school.
00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:11.040
Not students who can memorize vocabulary, students who can think.
00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:17.439
When I came back to the classroom in 2020, I barely recognized it, and not just because of the pandemic.
00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:26.719
Scripted curricula, one-to-one devices, individualized learning platforms promising to personalize education while actually making it more impersonal than it's ever been.
00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:35.840
And teachers, good, experienced teachers reading from scripts instead of bringing themselves, their stories, and their expertise into the room.
00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.400
The art of teaching is being hollowed out and we are letting it happen.
00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:43.120
But here's what makes me the most frustrated.
00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:00.879
We've confused engagement with learning.
00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:04.799
We've confused meeting students where they are with lowering the bar.
00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:15.439
And somewhere along the way, we decided that real science, the messy, uncertain, hands-on, uncomfortable kind was too hard for most kids.
00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.000
I'm here to tell you it's not.
00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:24.879
Every student, regardless of background, language, or academic ability, is capable of thinking like a scientist.
00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:33.759
The student headed to a STEM PhD program, the student going straight into the workforce, the student who walked into your classroom last week and doesn't speak English yet.
00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:41.039
They all deserve a science education that asks something real of them, not a script, not a screen, something real.
00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:50.159
I'm Elise, I'm a high school science teacher, a former cancer researcher, and a curriculum designer, and I'm done waiting for policy to catch up to what we already know.
00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.039
Because here's the thing: we don't have to wait.
00:02:53.280 --> 00:03:03.360
We still have our classrooms, we still have our professional judgment, we still have the ability to put something real in front of our students and ask them to think instead of just click.
00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:11.280
The lab bench, Science Education Unfiltered, is a podcast for the science teacher who knows something is wrong and wants to do something about it.
00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:13.120
Not eventually, now.
00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:24.400
No scripts, no edits, just honest conversation about what we've lost, what we can reclaim, and what it actually looks like to teach science the way it was meant to be taught for every student in front of you.
00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:25.360
I'm Elise.
00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:27.039
This is the lab bench.
00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:28.319
Let's get to work.
